Chapter 829: Barracks Trip: The Boy Wrapped In Ivory
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Lee Seng and Keng founded up Iol and Cro. They brought the group back to their makeshift camp and looked at the recruits. Vahn, Cro, and Iol looked at each other, quietly trying to figure out how they were going to throw Gio under the bus. Lee Seng's eyes flicked over to Gio, who was still reeling from his broken leg.
"Alright." Keng spoke. "I don't want you to speak at all while we're doing this." Keng pointed at Vahn. "You two, your friend, here, already explained to us what happened. I need you two to tell me what you remembered happening." Vahn began to open his mouth, but Lee Seng lifted his index finger up and silenced him before he could speak.
"You'll talk only if you've been ordered to." Lee Seng told them in a more serious tone. Iol and Cro gulped. They didn't have time to understand anything that was happening. Vahn gave wild looks as he tried to speak. He looked at Leader Lee Seng and gulped.
'T-they can silence us…? I don't think I've seen anyone pull off that before!' Vahn thought. The twins' tails billowed behind them as they waited. 'Eight tails… The twins… Why is this all familiar? Did Father mention something about—'
"Well, we set up camp and he was supposed to keep watch but fell asleep!" Iol pointed at Gio. "We couldn't wake him up so the three of us played lots to see who would take first watch. He's utterly useless!"
"Who saw the beast first?" Keng asked reigning the recruits back in.
"Vahn got mad and stormed off." Cro answered. "We followed him because he was mad he got first watch. He's never don—" Iol covered Cros' mouth and glared at him.
"What he means is we went to check up on him because he's a sore loser when it comes to this sort of thing. We went a little too far and got lost. We tried to retrace our steps but everywhere we went, looked different." Iol continued. "That's when we heard something."
"What did you hear?" Lee Seng asked.
"Whispering." Cro pulled Iol's hand off his mouth. "We all heard it. Vahn thought it was one of us pulling a prank, so he got even more mad!" Vahn smacked Cro and Iol. He screamed silently, cursing at them. The two looked at him all weird, only to realize they had completely missed something.
"Alright, enough of that." Keng lifted his finger up. He pointed it at Vahn and moved him away from the rest. "You can stay there."
"What? The Leaders are asking what happened! We're just telling them exactly what happened!" Cro shouted. Cro's eyes widened a second later, finally understanding what was happening. He covered his mouth as his eyes met the Leaders.
"I think they know what's happening now." Lee Seng looked at Keng. Keng nodded in agreement. "So, who saw the Chimera first? Can you tell me that?"
"Don't say anything!" Iol shouted. "If you try to answer it then—" A heavy pressure pushed onto Iol, stopping him from talking. Lee Seng's energy flared and the recruits all were fueled with fear.
"If you know what this is, you'll cooperate." Lee Seng told them.
"I guess I can't do anything but watch now." Keng smiled. He folded his arms and looked at the three mischievous recruits. "Answer my brother's question, kid. Who saw the Chimera first?" Vahn's hand instantly shot up. "Oh! So, you lied."
"You know what happens to liars?" Lee Seng asked, turning and stepping over to Vahn. "They get as far as their lies can take them… And that's… to the grave." Lee Seng stomped on the ground, scaring the three boys. Gio watched with a mixture of fear and excitement in his chest. He had never seen someone stand up to Vahn like that. Not even the seniors!
"Do you know who I am?" Vahn mouthed.
"Just some spoiled rich kid who thinks their daddy can save them." Lee Seng answered.
"Well, I think we've heard everything we needed to hear here. Because the broken leg soldier mentioned he was trying to write beacon, you'll unfortunately be disqualified." Keng pointed at Gio.
"Uh, sirs." Gio's quiet voice broke out. Keng looked over at Gio while Lee Seng glared at the scared Vahn. Gio began to try to scramble onto his knees, but hissed in pain.
"Don't move so much, kid." Keng told Gio. "We aren't bonafide healers. He didn't heal you all the way. Say what you want."
"I-It's my fault!" Gio shouted. Lee Seng snapped out of it and looked over at Gio. "If I had done what I was told then they wouldn't have wandered off! We would've been fine if it wasn't for my negligence!"
'Leaders can't do anything to someone who genuinely believes its their fault.' Vahn smiled. 'Gio was subjected to enough beatings to be an obedient dog.'
"If he says its his fault then it is!" Cro shouted.
"Yeah!" Iol agreed. "If he took care of himself better and got what little sleep we gave him, we wouldn't be in this predicament!"
"Who said any of you could talk?" Lee Seng hissed in Fox tongue. Cro and Iol covered their mouths as Lee Seng's tails changed. Slimy, dark gray tendrils flew outwards, stopping right in front of Cro, Iol, Vahn, and Gio. Lee Seng turned his full attention onto Gio. He could feel the anger burning outwards. Lee Seng's dragon eyes noticed something strange about this kid. His energy was bright even in front of someone like Lee Seng.
"Why do you say that?" Keng asked. "These three have obviously used you. Why would you protect them?" Gio forced himself into a kneeling position, ignoring the pain in his broken leg as he lowered his head completely onto the ground.
"Please! I was just trying to be as civil as possible! If anything happens to them, I could get kicked out of the soldiers unit!" Gio shouted. The ivory energy burned brightly in front of Lee Seng and Keng as they listened. "I can't afford to go back home! If I go back, everyone will think I failed! This isn't about me or anyone else! It isn't even about politics! I need to uphold my promise at all costs!"
"Promise?" Lee Seng repeated the word. The tendrils stayed, but the energy let up. "What promise?" Gio shook in fear as he mustered all of his courage. He lifted his head and looked directly into Lee Seng's eyes. The kids eyes shook in fear as he fought against it.
"I promised my family I would become strong enough to protect everyone!" Gio shouted. Keng's eyes flicked to Lee Seng and then back to Gio. Lee Seng stared at Gio for quite awhile until the tendrils turned back to Fox tails. They pulled back into place and the energy let up. Vahn could hear his own breathing while Cro and Iol gasped for air.
"Keng, what do you think?" Lee Seng asked. "Do we let them continue? You're the rune master here. What do you say?"
"He half wrote the rune before it exploded, right?" Keng asked.
"Yes, sir." Gio stuttered. Keng nodded and wrote half the rune for beacon.
"This might hurt. Close your eyes." Keng told them. Everyone squeezed their eyes shut as Keng swiped the half-written rune. Nothing happened. "Hm. Nothing happened."
"Then what was that light we saw earlier?" Lee Seng asked. He looked over to Gio. The ivory energy burned brightly within Gio's body.
'Something is definitely different with this kid.' Lee Seng thought. He let out a sigh and rubbed his temples.
"If Keng can't find anything that can reproduce that, we have no choice but to allow you to continue." Lee seng sighed. He walked over to Gio and knelt down. Lee Seng lifted Gio up and sat him down. He moved his hand over to Gio's broken leg.
"Heal." Lee Seng whispered. A bright golden light washed over Gio, completely healing Gio's leg. "There. Walk around. See if it's alright." Gio slowly stood up and put pressure on his leg. He stomped on it a couple times and then walked around.
"Woah! It's all better!" Gio exclaimed. Lee Seng stood up and looked at Keng.
"Well, I guess we're done here." Lee Seng told Keng. Keng nodded and the two looked at the group. "Hope you can find your way to the temple."
"Bye!" Keng waved. The twins vanished, reappearing high up in the sky. Lee Seng watched carefully while Keng stared at Lee Seng. "Are you worried about him?"
"You saw the light shining within him." Lee Seng motioned. "That kid's energy burned bright. Bright like a light."
"Do you think he somehow caused a light explosion similar to the beacon when he wrote the rune?" Keng asked. Lee Seng shrugged and sighed. He looked over at Keng and shook his head.
"I dunno." Lee Seng answered. "I guess we're reporting this to Captain Zixin. They technically didn't use the beacon but we ended up interfering."
"And you healed him." Keng pointed out. Lee Seng's nose twitched and he turned and started back. "What? I'm just stating the obvious!"
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Lee Seng and Keng founded up Iol and Cro. They brought the group back to their makeshift camp and looked at the recruits. Vahn, Cro, and Iol looked at each other, quietly trying to figure out how they were going to throw Gio under the bus. Lee Seng's eyes flicked over to Gio, who was still reeling from his broken leg.
"Alright." Keng spoke. "I don't want you to speak at all while we're doing this." Keng pointed at Vahn. "You two, your friend, here, already explained to us what happened. I need you two to tell me what you remembered happening." Vahn began to open his mouth, but Lee Seng lifted his index finger up and silenced him before he could speak.
"You'll talk only if you've been ordered to." Lee Seng told them in a more serious tone. Iol and Cro gulped. They didn't have time to understand anything that was happening. Vahn gave wild looks as he tried to speak. He looked at Leader Lee Seng and gulped.
'T-they can silence us…? I don't think I've seen anyone pull off that before!' Vahn thought. The twins' tails billowed behind them as they waited. 'Eight tails… The twins… Why is this all familiar? Did Father mention something about—'
"Well, we set up camp and he was supposed to keep watch but fell asleep!" Iol pointed at Gio. "We couldn't wake him up so the three of us played lots to see who would take first watch. He's utterly useless!"
"Who saw the beast first?" Keng asked reigning the recruits back in.
"Vahn got mad and stormed off." Cro answered. "We followed him because he was mad he got first watch. He's never don—" Iol covered Cros' mouth and glared at him.
"What he means is we went to check up on him because he's a sore loser when it comes to this sort of thing. We went a little too far and got lost. We tried to retrace our steps but everywhere we went, looked different." Iol continued. "That's when we heard something."
"What did you hear?" Lee Seng asked.
"Whispering." Cro pulled Iol's hand off his mouth. "We all heard it. Vahn thought it was one of us pulling a prank, so he got even more mad!" Vahn smacked Cro and Iol. He screamed silently, cursing at them. The two looked at him all weird, only to realize they had completely missed something.
"Alright, enough of that." Keng lifted his finger up. He pointed it at Vahn and moved him away from the rest. "You can stay there."
"What? The Leaders are asking what happened! We're just telling them exactly what happened!" Cro shouted. Cro's eyes widened a second later, finally understanding what was happening. He covered his mouth as his eyes met the Leaders.
"I think they know what's happening now." Lee Seng looked at Keng. Keng nodded in agreement. "So, who saw the Chimera first? Can you tell me that?"
"Don't say anything!" Iol shouted. "If you try to answer it then—" A heavy pressure pushed onto Iol, stopping him from talking. Lee Seng's energy flared and the recruits all were fueled with fear.
"If you know what this is, you'll cooperate." Lee Seng told them.
"I guess I can't do anything but watch now." Keng smiled. He folded his arms and looked at the three mischievous recruits. "Answer my brother's question, kid. Who saw the Chimera first?" Vahn's hand instantly shot up. "Oh! So, you lied."
"You know what happens to liars?" Lee Seng asked, turning and stepping over to Vahn. "They get as far as their lies can take them… And that's… to the grave." Lee Seng stomped on the ground, scaring the three boys. Gio watched with a mixture of fear and excitement in his chest. He had never seen someone stand up to Vahn like that. Not even the seniors!
"Do you know who I am?" Vahn mouthed.
"Just some spoiled rich kid who thinks their daddy can save them." Lee Seng answered.
"Well, I think we've heard everything we needed to hear here. Because the broken leg soldier mentioned he was trying to write beacon, you'll unfortunately be disqualified." Keng pointed at Gio.
"Uh, sirs." Gio's quiet voice broke out. Keng looked over at Gio while Lee Seng glared at the scared Vahn. Gio began to try to scramble onto his knees, but hissed in pain.
"Don't move so much, kid." Keng told Gio. "We aren't bonafide healers. He didn't heal you all the way. Say what you want."
"I-It's my fault!" Gio shouted. Lee Seng snapped out of it and looked over at Gio. "If I had done what I was told then they wouldn't have wandered off! We would've been fine if it wasn't for my negligence!"
'Leaders can't do anything to someone who genuinely believes its their fault.' Vahn smiled. 'Gio was subjected to enough beatings to be an obedient dog.'
"If he says its his fault then it is!" Cro shouted.
"Yeah!" Iol agreed. "If he took care of himself better and got what little sleep we gave him, we wouldn't be in this predicament!"
"Who said any of you could talk?" Lee Seng hissed in Fox tongue. Cro and Iol covered their mouths as Lee Seng's tails changed. Slimy, dark gray tendrils flew outwards, stopping right in front of Cro, Iol, Vahn, and Gio. Lee Seng turned his full attention onto Gio. He could feel the anger burning outwards. Lee Seng's dragon eyes noticed something strange about this kid. His energy was bright even in front of someone like Lee Seng.
"Why do you say that?" Keng asked. "These three have obviously used you. Why would you protect them?" Gio forced himself into a kneeling position, ignoring the pain in his broken leg as he lowered his head completely onto the ground.
"Please! I was just trying to be as civil as possible! If anything happens to them, I could get kicked out of the soldiers unit!" Gio shouted. The ivory energy burned brightly in front of Lee Seng and Keng as they listened. "I can't afford to go back home! If I go back, everyone will think I failed! This isn't about me or anyone else! It isn't even about politics! I need to uphold my promise at all costs!"
"Promise?" Lee Seng repeated the word. The tendrils stayed, but the energy let up. "What promise?" Gio shook in fear as he mustered all of his courage. He lifted his head and looked directly into Lee Seng's eyes. The kids eyes shook in fear as he fought against it.
"I promised my family I would become strong enough to protect everyone!" Gio shouted. Keng's eyes flicked to Lee Seng and then back to Gio. Lee Seng stared at Gio for quite awhile until the tendrils turned back to Fox tails. They pulled back into place and the energy let up. Vahn could hear his own breathing while Cro and Iol gasped for air.
"Keng, what do you think?" Lee Seng asked. "Do we let them continue? You're the rune master here. What do you say?"
"He half wrote the rune before it exploded, right?" Keng asked.
"Yes, sir." Gio stuttered. Keng nodded and wrote half the rune for beacon.
"This might hurt. Close your eyes." Keng told them. Everyone squeezed their eyes shut as Keng swiped the half-written rune. Nothing happened. "Hm. Nothing happened."
"Then what was that light we saw earlier?" Lee Seng asked. He looked over to Gio. The ivory energy burned brightly within Gio's body.
'Something is definitely different with this kid.' Lee Seng thought. He let out a sigh and rubbed his temples.
"If Keng can't find anything that can reproduce that, we have no choice but to allow you to continue." Lee seng sighed. He walked over to Gio and knelt down. Lee Seng lifted Gio up and sat him down. He moved his hand over to Gio's broken leg.
"Heal." Lee Seng whispered. A bright golden light washed over Gio, completely healing Gio's leg. "There. Walk around. See if it's alright." Gio slowly stood up and put pressure on his leg. He stomped on it a couple times and then walked around.
"Woah! It's all better!" Gio exclaimed. Lee Seng stood up and looked at Keng.
"Well, I guess we're done here." Lee Seng told Keng. Keng nodded and the two looked at the group. "Hope you can find your way to the temple."
"Bye!" Keng waved. The twins vanished, reappearing high up in the sky. Lee Seng watched carefully while Keng stared at Lee Seng. "Are you worried about him?"
"You saw the light shining within him." Lee Seng motioned. "That kid's energy burned bright. Bright like a light."
"Do you think he somehow caused a light explosion similar to the beacon when he wrote the rune?" Keng asked. Lee Seng shrugged and sighed. He looked over at Keng and shook his head.
"I dunno." Lee Seng answered. "I guess we're reporting this to Captain Zixin. They technically didn't use the beacon but we ended up interfering."
"And you healed him." Keng pointed out. Lee Seng's nose twitched and he turned and started back. "What? I'm just stating the obvious!"
Lee Seng and Keng founded up Iol and Cro. They brought the group back to their makeshift camp and looked at the recruits. Vahn, Cro, and Iol looked at each other, quietly trying to figure out how they were going to throw Gio under the bus. Lee Seng's eyes flicked over to Gio, who was still reeling from his broken leg."Alright." Keng spoke. "I don't want you to speak at all while we're doing this." Keng pointed at Vahn. "You two, your friend, here, already explained to us what happened. I need you two to tell me what you remembered happening." Vahn began to open his mouth, but Lee Seng lifted his index finger up and silenced him before he could speak."You'll talk only if you've been ordered to." Lee Seng told them in a more serious tone. Iol and Cro gulped. They didn't have time to understand anything that was happening. Vahn gave wild looks as he tried to speak. He looked at Leader Lee Seng and gulped.'T-they can silence us? I don't think I've seen anyone pull off that before!' Vahn thought. The twins' tails billowed behind them as they waited. 'Eight tails The twins Why is this all familiar? Did Father mention something about'"Well, we set up camp and he was supposed to keep watch but fell asleep!" Iol pointed at Gio. "We couldn't wake him up so the three of us played lots to see who would take first watch. He's utterly useless!""Who saw the beast first?" Keng asked reigning the recruits back in."Vahn got mad and stormed off." Cro answered. "We followed him because he was mad he got first watch. He's never don" Iol covered Cros' mouth and glared at him."What he means is we went to check up on him because he's a sore loser when it comes to this sort of thing. We went a little too far and got lost. We tried to retrace our steps but everywhere we went, looked different." Iol continued. "That's when we heard something.""What did you hear?" Lee Seng asked."Whispering." Cro pulled Iol's hand off his mouth. "We all heard it. Vahn thought it was one of us pulling a prank, so he got even more mad!" Vahn smacked Cro and Iol. He screamed silently, cursing at them. The two looked at him all weird, only to realize they had completely missed something."Alright, enough of that." Keng lifted his finger up. He pointed it at Vahn and moved him away from the rest. "You can stay there.""What? The Leaders are asking what happened! We're just telling them exactly what happened!" Cro shouted. Cro's eyes widened a second later, finally understanding what was happening. He covered his mouth as his eyes met the Leaders."I think they know what's happening now." Lee Seng looked at Keng. Keng nodded in agreement. "So, who saw the Chimera first? Can you tell me that?""Don't say anything!" Iol shouted. "If you try to answer it then" A heavy pressure pushed onto Iol, stopping him from talking. Lee Seng's energy flared and the recruits all were fueled with fear."If you know what this is, you'll cooperate." Lee Seng told them."I guess I can't do anything but watch now." Keng smiled. He folded his arms and looked at the three mischievous recruits. "Answer my brother's question, kid. Who saw the Chimera first?" Vahn's hand instantly shot up. "Oh! So, you lied.""You know what happens to liars?" Lee Seng asked, turning and stepping over to Vahn. "They get as far as their lies can take them And that's to the grave." Lee Seng stomped on the ground, scaring the three boys. Gio watched with a mixture of fear and excitement in his chest. He had never seen someone stand up to Vahn like that. Not even the seniors!"Do you know who I am?" Vahn mouthed."Just some spoiled rich kid who thinks their daddy can save them." Lee Seng answered."Well, I think we've heard everything we needed to hear here. Because the broken leg soldier mentioned he was trying to write beacon, you'll unfortunately be disqualified." Keng pointed at Gio."Uh, sirs." Gio's quiet voice broke out. Keng looked over at Gio while Lee Seng glared at the scared Vahn. Gio began to try to scramble onto his knees, but hissed in pain."Don't move so much, kid." Keng told Gio. "We aren't bonafide healers. He didn't heal you all the way. Say what you want.""I-It's my fault!" Gio shouted. Lee Seng snapped out of it and looked over at Gio. "If I had done what I was told then they wouldn't have wandered off! We would've been fine if it wasn't for my negligence!"'Leaders can't do anything to someone who genuinely believes its their fault.' Vahn smiled. 'Gio was subjected to enough beatings to be an obedient dog.'"If he says its his fault then it is!" Cro shouted."Yeah!" Iol agreed. "If he took care of himself better and got what little sleep we gave him, we wouldn't be in this predicament!""Who said any of you could talk?" Lee Seng hissed in Fox tongue. Cro and Iol covered their mouths as Lee Seng's tails changed. Slimy, dark gray tendrils flew outwards, stopping right in front of Cro, Iol, Vahn, and Gio. Lee Seng turned his full attention onto Gio. He could feel the anger burning outwards. Lee Seng's dragon eyes noticed something strange about this kid. His energy was bright even in front of someone like Lee Seng."Why do you say that?" Keng asked. "These three have obviously used you. Why would you protect them?" Gio forced himself into a kneeling position, ignoring the pain in his broken leg as he lowered his head completely onto the ground."Please! I was just trying to be as civil as possible! If anything happens to them, I could get kicked out of the soldiers unit!" Gio shouted. The ivory energy burned brightly in front of Lee Seng and Keng as they listened. "I can't afford to go back home! If I go back, everyone will think I failed! This isn't about me or anyone else! It isn't even about politics! I need to uphold my promise at all costs!""Promise?" Lee Seng repeated the word. The tendrils stayed, but the energy let up. "What promise?" Gio shook in fear as he mustered all of his courage. He lifted his head and looked directly into Lee Seng's eyes. The kids eyes shook in fear as he fought against it."I promised my family I would become strong enough to protect everyone!" Gio shouted. Keng's eyes flicked to Lee Seng and then back to Gio. Lee Seng stared at Gio for quite awhile until the tendrils turned back to Fox tails. They pulled back into place and the energy let up. Vahn could hear his own breathing while Cro and Iol gasped for air. "Keng, what do you think?" Lee Seng asked. "Do we let them continue? You're the rune master here. What do you say?""He half wrote the rune before it exploded, right?" Keng asked."Yes, sir." Gio stuttered. Keng nodded and wrote half the rune for beacon."This might hurt. Close your eyes." Keng told them. Everyone squeezed their eyes shut as Keng swiped the half-written rune. Nothing happened. "Hm. Nothing happened.""Then what was that light we saw earlier?" Lee Seng asked. He looked over to Gio. The ivory energy burned brightly within Gio's body.'Something is definitely different with this kid.' Lee Seng thought. He let out a sigh and rubbed his temples."If Keng can't find anything that can reproduce that, we have no choice but to allow you to continue." Lee seng sighed. He walked over to Gio and knelt down. Lee Seng lifted Gio up and sat him down. He moved his hand over to Gio's broken leg."Heal." Lee Seng whispered. A bright golden light washed over Gio, completely healing Gio's leg. "There. Walk around. See if it's alright." Gio slowly stood up and put pressure on his leg. He stomped on it a couple times and then walked around."Woah! It's all better!" Gio exclaimed. Lee Seng stood up and looked at Keng."Well, I guess we're done here." Lee Seng told Keng. Keng nodded and the two looked at the group. "Hope you can find your way to the temple.""Bye!" Keng waved. The twins vanished, reappearing high up in the sky. Lee Seng watched carefully while Keng stared at Lee Seng. "Are you worried about him?""You saw the light shining within him." Lee Seng motioned. "That kid's energy burned bright. Bright like a light.""Do you think he somehow caused a light explosion similar to the beacon when he wrote the rune?" Keng asked. Lee Seng shrugged and sighed. He looked over at Keng and shook his head."I dunno." Lee Seng answered. "I guess we're reporting this to Captain Zixin. They technically didn't use the beacon but we ended up interfering.""And you healed him." Keng pointed out. Lee Seng's nose twitched and he turned and started back. "What? I'm just stating the obvious!"
